Day one: Have I told you that I like the second day out the best? The first day is always complicated and rushed, well for me anyway. As was yesterday, strapping all that I wanted, and needed was a challenge… but it worked.. at least I think I have everything that I will need for a 4-6 week trip. I am sure that I have too much and will deposit ..stuff.. along the way. I did not even hit the road till 11:00 then had to make several stops.. By the time I was hitting I-90 it was noon and I [View Full Entry]

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This post is mainly to test out the blog to be sure I know how it works, but on the topic of being prepared, if someone were to ask me what preparations have I gone through for this trip, I'd just have to laugh at them. Its a little scary, to be honest, as to how little we've actually done to get ready for this trip. I mean, we've got our money and our passports and the rail pass, but we have no actual plan once we get to Japan. Which brings me to a slight (large) miscalculation that we have [View Full Entry]

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I’m sure when I came home from Germany, I was exhausted from traveling so long, but this is a little ridiculous. That was one flight, this is three or four over two days. Wednesday morning, we got up in the hotel, ready to check out between 10 and 11, as requested. Except we had no water in our room. Sarah told the people at the front desk many times, and after a few hours, it still wasn’t working. When they kept asking, she told them we would check out just as soon as we showered. At about 11:15, someone came in [View Full Entry]

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Here's the flight plan, mostly for my mother who keeps getting our departures mixed up: August 1, 2009 - Saturday Leave Spokane 1:00 pm 7: 30 pm - Arrive SEA and check in 8:30 pm - Frontier Airlines Flight 848 departs 11:48 pm - Arrive Denver, Co (DEN) August 2, 2009 - Sunday 12:25 pm Frontier Airlines Flight 86 departs 5:38 am - Arrive San Jose, Costa Rica [View Full Entry]

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We have been busy enjoying Idaho and Washington during the last week. After leaving Glacier Park we drove to Coeur d'Alene, ID. Beautiful city next to a very large lake (Lake Coeur d'Alene) which empties into the Spokane River. They have about 23 miles of bicycle and walking trails starting on the lake and running through the edge of the downtown area and then along the Spokane River. The trail goes all the way to the Idaho/Washington border where it connects with the Washington Centennial Trail which goes for 37 miles along the river, through the city and then through Riverside [View Full Entry]

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I broke the journey from Seattle to Spokane at Moses Lake, Washington. Some of the names of the towns in Washington State are interesting to say the least. Puyallup for example; pronounced Puh-al up, Walla Walla, Ephrata, the list goes on and on. I guess the folks that got across to the side of the United States were a mixed bunch of all nationalities that got thrown in with several tribes of American Indians with their own flair for naming areas created just the right recipe. The name “Spokane” is a Salish word which loosely translated means “children of the sun” [View Full Entry]

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I have to admit, there was a small part of me that was worried about getting in enough money for this trip. I shouldn’t have worried, though, as I have seen God come through on countless occasions. But as the bills came in, and numbers for the Kenya portion of our trip didn’t add up, I was a little concerned. Prepared, but concerned nonetheless. So, after looking at my bank statements dozens of times, I decided to pray. Funny how we so often leave that for the last thing. As I went into the final weekend before leaving, I was confident [View Full Entry]

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On Wednesday night, I started saying goodbyes. I hate this part of leaving. I spent time with the high school students that mean the world to me, and knew that many of them I wouldn’t see until I returned from the other side of the world. The evening was filled with meeting new people, seeing old people, and great conversations. We closed the night with a great time of worship. I stood in the midst of dozens of teenagers (most of whom are taller than me) and listened as they praised their Lord for all He has done. It was as [View Full Entry]

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I can’t sleep. I never have trouble sleeping, but tonight, I can’t get there. My whole body is tired, from my eyeballs to my toes, but something in me is restless. On Wednesday, after worship, I went into the dark auditorium and just sat for a while. I’ve spent so many nights alone in that room, just me and God. He’s spoken so much to me in there. I sat in a pew, and looked, and listened, and prayed. Every time I get ready to leave for a long time, I do two things. First, I appreciate the city more. I [View Full Entry]

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Drive from Montana to Moses Lake WA! Day 8 Had great drive over passes from Livingston MT, through Coeur d'Alene ID, Spokane and to Moses Lake WA. Stopped for hound run in Montana near Clark Fork River along 90! Rivers moving fast. Fortunately hounds know how to swim! Mainly a driving day from Livingston MT to Moses Lake WA. We stopped in Bozeman MT (home of Montana State Univ) for a nice city park with a fenced in dog park by a pond. The mountains in the distance were snow capped and craggy. Then we headed back to I-90 and drove [View Full Entry]

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